Bedtime for Theta
by tkelparis
Summary: Donna discovers how hard it is to get a Time Lord to sleep. Especially a hyper-active one. (Written for my personal May 2012 Story-A-Day challenge.)


**Title**: Bedtime for Theta

**Rating**: G (nothing to offend anyone, although might have mention of nightmares)

**Author**: tkel_paris

**Summary**: Donna discovers how hard it is to get a Time Lord to sleep. Especially a hyper-active one.

**Disclaimer**: Just a flight of fancy.

**Dedication**: ellyfanfiction on livejournal. She wrote something about the Doctor refusing to go to sleep, so I was inspired.

**Author's Note**: Are elly, tardis_mole and I the only ones who see Ten as needing Donna's reminders/nagging to remember that he needs sleep after all? :P

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**Bedtime for Theta**

**Started May 18, 2012**

**Finished February 6, 2013**

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Donna eyed her alien friend. "Do you ever sleep?"

The Doctor turned his eyes on her and flashed his insufferable superior grin. "Time Lords don't need so much sleep, Donna."

"Then explain why your eyes look utterly bleary and your body's movements are jerky."

He blinked. "Are they?"

"Yeah." Her eyes narrowed. "You look like you're ready to drop. What's going on? What's so bad about going to bed?! You surely need more than you're getting!"

His face paled. "Donna," he whispered, "you have no idea what my life has been like. I've seen and lived nightmares. All of my mistakes haunt me when I try to rest. I have to last until I'm so exhausted that I can't even dream. Or I can't remember my dreams."

Donna's mouth went slack. "Oh, my God. I'm so sorry."

He swallowed. "So that's just how it has to be, how I've managed for the last 904 years."

"I thought you said you're 904 years old."

He blinked, then flinched. "Oh, I didn't mean to say that."

"Then, it's been that long since you lost your people?!"

He looked down at his feet. "Yeah."

Donna tugged him into a hug. "You need this, Doctor. And a good sleep"

The Doctor fell into her embrace, holding her as tightly as he dared. Who else would so freely offer comfort and a lack of judgment? No one in recent memory. And none had given such reassuring hugs as she did. They felt like medicine to his soul.

She could tell he was closer to dropping than he wanted to admit, and tried to think of ways around his predicament. Then she hit upon an idea. It would push the boundaries of their friendship, but he needed to rest. "Come on," she finally said, grabbing his hand and leading him through the ship.

"Where are we going?"

The question's intensity was ruined by the sudden yawn he released. She was a bit sleepy, so she wasn't entirely surprised that an alien's yawn would be as contagious as a human's. Although she vaguely remembered hearing that it was the brain telling you that you needed more oxygen, and wondered if the same was true for Time Lords. She noticed a door that she'd never seen before suddenly on her left, and felt the TARDIS blow a bit of warm air her way. She opened the door and tugged him in behind her.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "This...is my room."

Donna smiled. The ship was helping her out. "Well, then, this is good. I'll stay here with you while you sleep."

He looked at her in shock. "What?!"

She rolled her eyes. "I need to catch some sleep myself. Your skinny virtue will be safe."

The sudden appearance of pouting on his bleary face was an interesting juxtaposition. He actually looked upset that she thought of him as not worth trying to molest. She'd analyze that later.

"You'll have someone here to hold your hand, and I'll see what I can do to keep those mental demons from invading. I babysat for a while, and the kids never had nightmares when I was around. Said I scared the monsters away."

It said something about how much he took Donna's requests and demands on board that he didn't protest when she made him lose the shoes and jacket. That she curled against him on his bed was a bit of a shock. That he adjusted so rapidly he thought he ought to have been alarmed.

But the next thing he knew, it was hours later. Donna was still curled next to him, rather comfortably snuggled against his side with a tiny smile. She couldn't say he was so skinny now.

But he hadn't had one nightmare.

He might have to talk her into being his permanent bed companion.

Now if he could just figure out how to phrase that to avoid a slap.

THE END


End file.
